Take a Northwestern Direction

Academic Departments

Weinberg College's 26 academic departments span the range of disciplines in the arts and sciences. From humanities to social sciences to the natural sciences, the College's departments foster rigorous interdisciplinary thinking and world-changing scholarship.

Department Honors:

Chemistry Professor Fraser Stoddart was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Working with molecular machines, Stoddart and his colleagues have opened up a new field of chemistry in the past 25 years.

Undergraduate Majors

Our 47 major options are broad, particularly when paired with another major, a minor, or even a degree at another Northwestern school. And, if your interests don't fit into an existing major, you can work with professors to create a customized field of study.

Ever-Evolving Areas of Study:

The list of majors is always growing. Recent additions include African Studies, Asian American Studies, Jewish Studies, Latina/Latino Studies, Legal Studies, Middle East and North African Studies, and Neuroscience.

Distinctive Programs

For sheer challenge, for ambitious intellectual reach and for bonding over big questions, you won't find anything quite like the special programs at Weinberg College. When you are accepted into a special program, you become part of a close-knit community of students and professors who push, inspire, and support you.

Masters & PhD Programs

Our 30 graduate programs offer graduate degrees and certificates, including some accelerated bachelor's/master's degree options. Our graduate students participate in research across the University and fund research through competitive fellowships and grants.

Course Options

Weinberg College operates on the quarter system, and students typically take four courses each quarter. That gives you the chance to explore a variety of academic disciplines, the hallmark of a liberal arts education, as well as your area of concentration.

First-Year Seminars:

First-year seminars are a key component a Weinberg College student's first year experience. In these small, writing- and discussion-oriented courses, you will investigate a specific theme or issue. See seminar offerings, which range from "#BlackLivesMatter and the Struggle for American Democracy" to "Music and the Mind."

Get Started at the College

Whether you are an incoming first-year student or transfer to Weinberg College, find the information you need.

Meet Our Students

The Perfect Combination.

Ask students why they chose the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, and that phrase will almost invariably emerge.

“

Weinberg is special because of the opportunity it provides to chart your own path.”

Shreya Goel '18/ECONOMICS & MMSS

“

What I appreciate most about the liberal arts education I have received in Weinberg is that it combines the best of a technical specialization in my disciplines with a broad exposure to different kinds of ideas. ”

Gustavo Berrizbeitia '17/POLITICAL SCIENCE & PHILOSOPHY

“

I chose Weinberg because I wanted to be surrounded by students who share my curiosity, determination, and dedication, yet have many different cultural identities and viewpoints.”

Margot Zuckerman '18/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

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The Classroom and Beyond

Experience all the College has to offer our students. Take advantage of life-changing courses, research projects, study abroad, and more. As you progress toward your degree, use the website to track requirements and take advantage of College advising and support.

Events

The Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy is celebrating its launch with a panel discussion and reception. “Courageous Leadership, Racial Reconciliation, and the Future of American Democracy"

Disputes over the scope of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution have played a central role in contemporary debates about Islam in the United States. Through an analysis of current controversies over the construction of mosques, Sharia law and the Trump Administration's proposed travel ban, this talk will suggest that the Islamophobia expressed by many anti-Muslim activists reveals a form of liberal "democraphobia". If these disputes express a deep divide about the Constitution and the limits of who can be considered American, what, then, is the power of law and U.S. courts to counter anti-Muslim bigotry and negative perceptions of Islam?